car2Go

car2go
Public (subsidiary)
Industry Car rental
Founded 2008 (2008)
Headquarters Stuttgart, Germany
Number of locations
 30
Services Carsharing
Parent Daimler AG
Website www.car2go.com

car2go is a subsidiary of Daimler AG providing carsharing services in European and North American cities. The company offers exclusively Smart Fortwo and Mercedes-Benz vehicles and features one-way point-to-point rentals. Users are charged by the minute, with hourly and daily rates available.[1] The service forgoes the typical centralized rental office, and cars are user-accessed wherever parked via a downloadable smartphone app. As of October 2016, car2go is the largest carsharing company in the world with over 2,000,000 members.[2]

History

Daimler introduced the service in Ulm, Germany, in October 2008,[3] where it was developed by one of its internal business innovation units and was first tested exclusively by Daimler employees.[4]

As of October 2016, car2go operates over 14,000 vehicles, which serve eight countries and 30 cities worldwide with over 2,000,000 customers.[5] Starting in May 2015, car2go added a $1 'Driver Protection Fee' for each ride to offset the lowered deductible.[6]

Since inception, car2go withdrew from several locations, including Britain, where it closed its service in London and Birmingham after only a year of operation.[7] Due to a lack of charging stations, car2go in San Diego, California, decided to replace all of its all-electric vehicle fleet with gasoline-powered cars starting on 1 May 2016. When the service started in 2011, car2go expected 1,000 charging stations to be deployed around the city, but only 400 were in place by early 2016. As a result, an average of 20% of the carsharing fleet is unavailable at any given time because the cars are either being charged or because they don’t have enough electricity in them to be driven.[8]

Locations

Current

The following table details all locations where car2go is active as of November 2016:

car2go member card reader that allows access to the vehicle
car2go cars in Austin, Texas
City/
Municipality 		Country Vehicles Type Start date Reference
Austin U.S. 300 Gasoline & Electric May 2010 [9]
Düsseldorf Germany 300 Gasoline February 2011 [10]
Hamburg Germany 700 Gasoline April 2011 [11]
Vancouver Canada 1,275 Gasoline & Electric June 2011 [12][13][14]
San Diego U.S. 400 Electric November 2011[15]
Amsterdam Netherlands 350 Electric November 2011 [16]
Vienna Austria 800 Gasoline December 2011 [17][18]
Madrid Spain 500 Electric November 2015 [19]
Washington, D.C. U.S. 700 Gasoline March 2012 [20][21]
Portland, Oregon U.S. 465 Gasoline & Electric March 2012 [22]
Berlin Germany 1,200 Gasoline & Electric April 2012 [23]
Toronto Canada 375 Gasoline June 2012 [24]
Calgary Canada 600 Gasoline July 2012 [25]
Cologne Germany 350 Gasoline September 2012 [26]
Stuttgart Germany 500 Electric November 2012 [27][28]
Seattle U.S. 750 Gasoline December 2012 [29][30]
Minneapolis–Saint Paul U.S. 535 Gasoline September 2013 [31][32]
Columbus U.S. 300 Gasoline October 2013 [33]
Denver U.S. 400 Gasoline June 2013 [34][35]
Munich Germany 300 Gasoline June 2013 [11]
Milan Italy 700 Gasoline August 2013 [36]
Montreal Canada 460 Gasoline November 2013 [37][38][39]
Rome Italy 600 Gasoline March 2014 [40][41]
Florence Italy 200 Gasoline May 2014 [42]
Frankfurt Germany 250 Gasoline September 2014
New York City U.S. 550 Gasoline October 2014 [43][44]
Stockholm Sweden 250 Gasoline November 2014
Turin Italy 450 Gasoline March 2015 [45]
Prato Italy 35 Gasoline November 2015 [46]
Chongqing China 400 Gasoline April 2016 [47]

Former

The following table details all locations where car2go is no longer active as of November 2016:

City/
Municipality 		Country Start date End date Reference
Ulm Germany October 2008 December 2014 [48][49]
Lyon France February 2012 June 2012 [50]
London United Kingdom December 2012 May 2014 [51]
Birmingham United Kingdom May 2013 May 2014 [52]
South Bay, Los Angeles U.S. June 2014 June 2015[53]
Eugene, Oregon U.S. October 2014 June 2015[54]
Copenhagen Denmark September 2014 January 2016[55]
Arlington, Virginia U.S. September 2015 May 2016[56]
Miami U.S. July 2012 February 2016[57]

Future

The following table details all planned locations for car2go as of November 2016:

City/
Municipality 		Country Start date no. of cars Reference
Brussels Belgium October 2016 300 [58]

Business model

The car2go business model is similar in all markets, although rates vary by location. The company charges a per minute rate, with discounted fixed rates for hourly and daily usage also available and applied automatically.[59] The rates are all-inclusive and cover rental, gas, insurance, parking (in authorized areas), and maintenance. In Horseshoe Bay, Canada, a popular satellite parking location near Vancouver, BC, Canada, a fee of $10 is now charged for ending your trip there on Fridays and Saturdays. A low fixed annual fee is sometimes also charged. In most markets, car2go vehicles can park in either specially designated parking spots, or in standard parking areas, with a special permit from the local municipality.[60]

Vehicles

Two car2go Smart electric drive cars charging at the Herengracht in Amsterdam
Car2Go 4-door Mercedes-Benz B Class and a 2-door Smart ForTwo in Downtown Vancouver

In most cities, car2go offers only two-passenger vehicles, namely two types of Smart Fortwo "car2go edition" vehicles: gasoline-powered, and electric-powered. The gasoline-powered cars can be found in three variants based on roof configuration: "original" with integrated solar panel roof; "upgraded" with a panoramic polycarbonate roof and power side mirrors; and "new" featuring a standard roof. Electric car2go models are currently available in several markets, have a range of 84 miles (135 km), and need to be recharged every two or three days.[61] In its Canadian markets, car2go has a pilot program in place to supplement its fleet with a small number of four-door Mercedes B-class vehicles.[62][63]

Apps

First-party and third-party apps for mobile devices allow users to locate and reserve vehicles.[64] When reserving a car online, the customers are able to see the car's fuel gauge (gasoline-powered cars) or the battery's state of charge (electric-powered cars), so if the customer wants to go for an extended drive, they can find the right car for that trip. [65]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Stephanie Steinberg and Bill Vlasic (2013-01-25). "Car-Sharing Services Grow, and Expand Options". The New York Times. Retrieved 2013-01-26.
  2. ↑ "car2go Crosses Two Million Global Member Milestone".
  3. ↑ "Daimler's car2go: Rent a Smart anywhere, anytime". Autoblog.com. Retrieved 2012-12-21.
  4. ↑ Jeremy Korzeniewski (2008-10-21). "Daimler's car2go: Rent a Smart anywhere, anytime". Autoblog.
  5. ↑ Nick Gibbs. "Car2Go poised to top 1-million users". Automotive News.
  6. ↑ Taylor Soper. "Car2go adds $1 'Driver Protection Fee' for each ride to offset lowered deductible - GeekWire". GeekWire.
  7. ↑ Griffin, Jon (23 May 2014). "Car2go scrapped a year after setting up in Birmingham". Birmingham Mail. Retrieved 23 January 2015.
  8. ↑ Garrick, David (2016-03-16). "Car2Go switching electric cars to gas". The San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved 2016-03-25.
  9. ↑ "UPDATE: car2go car sharing program goes public in Austin, Texas". Gizmag.com. Retrieved 2012-11-26.
  10. ↑ "smart News » Düsseldorf's ready for car2go". News.thesmart.co.uk.s112875.gridserver.com. 2012-02-13. Retrieved 2012-11-26.
  11. 1 2 https://web.archive.org/web/20130615132021/http://www.daimler.com/technology-and-innovation/mobility-concepts/car2go. Archived from the original on June 15, 2013. Retrieved June 21, 2013. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  12. ↑ "car2go Canada Ltd. | car2go Poised For Growth in Vancouver This Spring". Newswire.ca. 2012-03-20. Retrieved 2012-11-26.
  13. ↑ "December Newsletter: Vancouver". car2go. 2012-12-21.
  14. ↑ "Car2go cuts Richmond, North Vancouver coverage". 19 January 2016.
  15. ↑ "Car-Sharing car2go Brings New Electric Fleet to San Diego". Times of San Diego.
  16. ↑ "Electromobility in the Netherlands – Highlights 2014" (PDF). Netherlands Enterprise Agency. April 2015. Retrieved 2015-10-15.
  17. ↑ "Car2Go starts in Vienna with contactless technology made in Austria. | NFC Development & Consulting". Nfc.cc. Retrieved 2012-11-26.
  18. ↑ "Car sharing options growing fast in Vienna". 2014-07-11.
  19. ↑ "Madrid estrena su servicio de car-sharing eléctrico con 350 coches de car2go". elmundo.es. Retrieved 2015-11-11.
  20. ↑ "Daimler's car2go car-sharing service starts in D.C., Portland this month". Green.autoblog.com. Retrieved 2012-11-26.
  21. ↑ Clabaugh, Jeff (2015-08-20). "Car2Go comes to Arlington — with a catch". Washington Business Journal. Retrieved 19 October 2015.
  22. ↑ Lizzy Duffy. "First Car2Go Bike Rack Spotted In Portland". opb.org.
  23. ↑ "World's largest Car2Go fleet deployed in Berlin". Green.autoblog.com. 2012-04-30. Retrieved 2012-11-26.
  24. ↑ "Car2go launches short-term car rentals in Toronto, joining Zipcar, Autoshare, even taxis in moving market". thestar.com. 2012-06-13. Retrieved 2012-11-26.
  25. ↑ "On The Road: No slowing down for car2go in Calgary". Calgaryherald.com. 2013-07-25. Retrieved 2013-08-22.
  26. ↑ "car2go Expands to Cologne, Germany - Rental Operations". Auto Rental News. 2012-09-10. Retrieved 2012-11-26.
  27. ↑ "smart News » Stuttgart says 'guten tag!' to car2go". News.thesmart.co.uk.s112875.gridserver.com. Retrieved 2012-11-26.
  28. ↑ "Stromautos auch bald im Strohgäu". stuttgarter-zeitung.de. Retrieved 2014-04-06.
  29. ↑ "car2go Introduces a New Way of Carsharing in Seattle, Washington". Retrieved 21 December 2012.
  30. ↑ "car2go-seattle-expansion". Retrieved March 2015. Check date values in: |access-date= (help)
  31. ↑ http://www.broadwayworld.com/article/car2go-Introduces-Carsharing-in-Minneapolis-20130827/. Retrieved August 27, 2013. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  32. ↑ car2go N.A. LLC (8 January 2015). "car2go Kicks Off 2015 With A Bang With Over 20,000 car2go... -- TWIN CITIES, Minn., Jan. 8, 2015 /PRNewswire/ --". prnewswire.com.
  33. ↑ "car2go Brings Point-to-Point Carsharing to Ohio". www.prnewswire.com. Retrieved 2014-07-09.
  34. ↑ Danny King. "Car2go comes to Denver with 300 Smart Fortwo car share vehicles". Autoblog.
  35. ↑ "Hello Denver". Car2Go. Retrieved 23 March 2015.
  36. ↑ "Milano, Car2go aumenta la flotta". Corriere della Sera. 28 October 2014. Retrieved 28 October 2014.
  37. ↑ "Auto en libre service: car2go arrive à Montréal". Retrieved 2013-10-04.
  38. ↑ "Media Advisory - Launch of car2go in Montreal". 2013-10-04.
  39. ↑ "Montreal looks into setting up an electric-car sharing service". Retrieved 2015-11-28.
  40. ↑ http://www.motorionline.com/2014/02/18/car2go-a-roma-il-car-sharing-smart-nella-capitale-entro-la-prossima-pasqua. Retrieved 2014-02-20. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  41. ↑ "Car sharing - A Roma Il Car2go Si Espande - Quattroruote". Quattroruote.it.
  42. ↑ "Hello Austin". car2go.com.
  43. ↑ "Car2Go expands to Brooklyn". Washington Post.
  44. ↑ "Car2go could redefine the way New Yorkers get around town".
  45. ↑ "Car2go si prepara allo sbarco a Torino". La Gazzetta dello Sport - Tutto il rosa della vita.
  46. ↑ "Il car sharing approda a Prato, ecco come funzionerà e quanto costa [notiziediprato.it]".
  47. ↑ "Il Car2go's strong first month in Chongqing".
  48. ↑ "In depth: Daimler's Car2Go program is simple, amazing, but not perfect". Green.autoblog.com. Retrieved 2012-11-26.
  49. ↑ "eSmart III Production Commences". Fleets and Fuels.com. 2012-06-19. Retrieved 2012-11-26.
  50. ↑ "Car2go suspends operation in Lyon, France because of name conflict with Car' Go". Green.autoblog.com. Retrieved 2012-11-26.
  51. ↑ "Reif für die Insel: car2go bringt smart(e) Mobilität nach London | Daimler Global Media Site > Mercedes-Benz Cars > smart > car2go". Media.daimler.com. Retrieved 2012-12-21.
  52. ↑ "Daimler's car2go car-sharing service will launch in UK this fall". Green.autoblog.com. Retrieved 2012-11-26.
  53. ↑ "Car2go car-sharing service to suspend South Bay operations".
  54. ↑ "Not Found - Eugene, Oregon". The Register-Guard.
  55. ↑ "Car2go shutting down in Copenhagen".
  56. ↑ "We've Bridged the Gap!". washingtonDC.car2go.com. Retrieved 31 May 2016.
  57. ↑ "Car2Go suspending business indefinitely in Miami, Miami Beach". miamiherald.
  58. ↑ http://www.fleeteurope.com/news/car2go-arrives-october-brussels
  59. ↑ "Mobility for a reasonable price". car2go.com.
  60. ↑ "Hello Vancouver". car2go.com.
  61. ↑ "Hello Austin". car2go.com.
  62. ↑ "Four Door Vehicles". car2go.com.
  63. ↑ "How to find car2go's 25 new four-door Mercedes vehicles on the streets of Vancouver". straight.com. The Georgia Straight.
  64. ↑ "car2go Apps". car2go.com.
  65. ↑ "Just hop in". car2go.com.
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